Nation briefs

Saturday

Aug 25, 2018 at 3:15 PMAug 25, 2018 at 4:22 PM

TWITTER TIRADE

Trump continues

feud with Sessions

WASHINGTON (TNS) — President Donald Trump has been warring with his attorney general, Jeff Sessions, since Sessions recused himself from the FBI investigation into Russia’s election-meddling, which has led to the mounting legal problems for Trump and his associates as special counsel Robert Mueller investigates potential collusion.

Now, after last week’s guilty plea from Trump’s former personal lawyer Michael Cohen, the tax fraud conviction of former Trump campaign manager Paul Manafort and news that the Trump organization’s longtime chief financial officer may be cooperating with prosecutors, the president is stepping up his attacks against Sessions and appears to be laying the groundwork to fire the nation’s top law enforcement official.

In Twitter posts Saturday morning, Trump again sought to distance himself from the Cohen case and implications that he did anything wrong, and he wrote: “Jeff Sessions said he wouldn’t allow politics to influence him only because he doesn’t understand what is happening underneath his command position. Highly conflicted Bob Mueller and his gang of 17 Angry Dems are having a field day as real corruption goes untouched. No Collusion!”

— Los Angeles Times

SCHOOL THREAT

Former teacher

under investigation

MIAMI (TNS) — A former Florida elementary school teacher is on federal radar after posting several “concerning” YouTube videos. In one of them he says he wants to “seize” the school and the Miami-Dade County School Board building with armored tanks, school district officials confirmed.

David Givins said he wanted “200-plus armored tanks to seize North Hialeah Elementary School and Miami-Dade County Public School Board building.”

“I am the superior teacher that will ever exist,” he said. Not one of you Cuban teachers who taught at North Hialeah Elementary was my equal.”

Givins worked at the school for 13 years before being fired in 2014 for “teacher certification issues,” according to the school district.

— Miami Herald

ARETHA FRANKLIN

Bill Clinton to

speak at funeral

DETROIT (TNS) — Former President Bill Clinton is among a list of high-profile speakers scheduled for the funeral of Aretha Franklin, the singer’s family announced Friday morning.

Other speakers will include former U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder, Motown star and lifelong Franklin friend Smokey Robinson, the Rev. Jesse Jackson and record mogul Clive Davis.

Also announced Friday were Bishop T.D. Jakes, the Rev. Al Sharpton and actress Cicely Tyson.

Michigan Gov. Rick Snyder, Detroit Mayor Mike Duggan, Detroit City Council President Brenda Jones and U.S. Rep. Brenda Lawrence will also step up for remarks, Franklin’s family said via spokeswoman Gwendolyn Quinn.